Wallace D. Wattles (1860-1911) was the author of numerous books, the best known of which is The Science of Getting Rich.

He experienced failure after failure in his early life until after many years of study and experimentation he formulated a set of principles that, with scientific precision, create financial and spiritual wealth.

He died a prosperous man in 1911.

Napoleon Hill was born in 1883 in a one-room cabin on the Pound River in Wise County, Virginia. He began his writing career at age 13 as a "mountain reporter" for small town newspapers and went on to become America's most beloved motivational author.

Hill passed away in November 1970 after a long and successful career writing, teaching, and lecturing about the principles of success. Dr. Hill's work stands as a monument to individual achievement and is the cornerstone of modern motivation. His book, Think and Grow Rich, is the all-time bestseller in the field.

Hill established the Foundation as a nonprofit educational institution whose mission is to perpetuate his philosophy of leadership, self-motivation, and individual achievement.

His books, audio cassettes, videotapes, and other motivational products are made available to you as a service of the Foundation so that you may build your own library of personal achievement materials...and help you acquire financial wealth and the true riches of life.

James Allen was born in Leicester, England, in 1864. He took his first job at age 15 to support his family, after his father was murdered while looking for work in America. Allen was employed as a factory knitter and a private secretary until the early 1900s, when he became increasingly known for his motivational writing.

His 1903 work As a Man Thinketh earned him worldwide fame as a prophet of inspirational thinking and influenced a who's-who of self-help writers, including Napoleon Hill.

Phineas Taylor "P. T." Barnum (1810–91) formed the circus that came to be known as The Greatest Show on Earth. A brash, larger-than-life entrepreneur, he transformed the nature of commercial entertainment in the 19th century, from his private museum of curiosities to his big-top extravaganzas.

Barnum introduced audiences to General Tom Thumb, Jumbo the elephant, and Jenny Lind, "The Swedish nightingale," among other sensations. He concluded his career by serving two terms in the legislature of his home state, Connecticut, and as the mayor of Bridgeport.

Florence Scovel Shinn carried out her work in the first half of the 20th century.

Through her teachings and numerous books, she was a profound influence on Louise Hay and other pioneers of personal transformation.

William Walker Atkinson (1862—1932) was a noted occultist and pioneer of the New Thought Movement. He wrote extensively throughout his lifetime, often using various pseudonyms. He is widely credited with writing The Kybalion and was the founder of the Yogi Publication Society.

Not much is known about the legendary LAO TZU, to whom authorship of the TAO TEH CHING is popularly attributed. Some scholars believe the author was an elder contemporary of Confucius.

Sun Tzu is a honorific title bestowed upon Sūn Wu (c. 544-496 BC), the author of The Art of War, an immensely influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy.

He is also one of the earliest realists in international relations theory. In the author's name, Sūn Wu, the character wu, meaning "military", is the same as the character in wu shu, or martial art. Sun Wu also has a courtesy name, Chang Qing (Cháng Qīng).

Poet, philosopher and artist, Kahlil Gibran was born in 1883 near Mount Lebanon, a region that has produced many prophets. His poetry has been translated into more than twenty languages. His drawings and paintings have been exhibited in the great capitals of the world and compared by Auguste Rodin to the work of William Blake. Kahlil Gibran died in 1931.

Poet, philosopher and artist, Kahlil Gibran was born near Mount Lebanon. The millions of Arabic-speaking peoples familiar with his writings in that language consider him the genius of his age, but his fame and influence spread far beyond the Near East. His poetry has been translated into more than twenty languages and his drawings and paintings have been exhibited all over the world.

His many works include The Prophet, his masterpiece of religious inspiration; The Garden of the Prophet; The Storm: Stories and Prose Poems; The Beloved: Reflections on the Path of the Heart; Jesus: The Son of Man; The Voice of Kahlil Gibran, an anthology of his writings; The Vision: Reflections on the Way of the Soul; and Spirit Brides. He was for many years the leader of a Lebanese literary circle in New York, where he died in 1931.

Neville Goddard (1905-1972) abandoned his work as a dancer and actor to dedicate himself to a career as a metaphysical writer and lecturer. Neville influenced a range of spiritual thinkers, from Joseph Murphy to Carlos Castaneda.

Miyamoto Musashi, who lived in Japan in the 1600s, was an undefeated dueler, a masterless samurai, and an independent teacher.

He spent the last decades of his life refining and teaching his military science.